Businessman Cesar Rod­riguez and his family have taken refuge from Monterrey's gunfights, kidnappings and armed roadblocks in an idyllic Katy townhouse community.

Rodriguez, his wife and three children are part of a wave of Monterrey residents moving to the Houston area to avoid trouble in what was once one of Mexico's safest cities. He's still flying frequently to Monterrey to run his business there, but he doesn't mind the commute as long as his family is safe.

Mexico's war with drug cartels has led to escalating violence across the nation, including in the industrial powerhouse of Monterrey, where there was recently a shootout in front of an American school attended by the children of diplomats.

"It is chaos," Rodriguez said.

Residents of Mexico City and some other cities have long fled to Houston during violent periods, economic downturns or political shake-ups. Monterrey residents, however, typically remain in the city most of their lives, though they may buy vacation homes abroad or study in the U.S.

A business-centric city of some 3,146,000, it had long been considered a safe enclave and is home to some of Mexico's richest industrialists.

"Monterrey was the nicest place to live in all of Latin America," said John Meyer an attorney with FosterQuan, a Houston immigration law firm.

For years Meyer has helped corporate clients apply for visas for the white-collar workers they relocate to the U.S. Now he's helping more entrepreneurs and business owners obtain visas so they can reside and invest in the United States and run their Monterrey businesses from north of the border.

"This really is the first time that I'm aware of that Monterrey has really had to grapple with this serious security issue," said Robert Barnett, an attorney with San Antonio-based Cacheaux, Cavazos & Newton. "We are seeing a growing trend of Monterrey business people and professionals uprooting themselves in Monterrey and seeking to transfer their businesses and, to an extent, transfer their lives to the U.S."

Houston is the most popular city for upper-class Monterrey residents who relocate, Texas attorneys and real estate agents say. It was already a popular shopping destination, and the two cities share strong business ties.

Recently, Aeromexico and VivaAerobus began offering nonstop flights between Houston and Monterrey, joining Continental Airlines in the market. That's brought down airfares for the 90-minute flight, making it more affordable for some Monterrey residents to relocate their families and shuttle between Houston homes and Monterrey jobs.

Escalating violence

The exodus swelled about three months ago, said Rafael Herrera, president of the Mexican business council of Houston and vice president of business development for Avangard Innovative, a Houston recycling company with operations in Mexico.

Violence has escalated in the last few months, and many Monterrey parents decided summer was a good time to relocate their children to Houston before the school year resumed here.

Even business tourism is down because of the fear of being caught in the drug war.

Herrera, a Houston native, used to travel to Monterrey for work and stay overnight. Now he tries to get all of his meetings done in one day and be home in Houston by nightfall.

His wife, who works in real estate, is renting more homes in Houston to Monterrey natives fleeing the city.

"We have a bunch of people who want to leave Mexico just for their safety. We used to have people buying second homes. Now they are buying to move," Saldaña said.

She said many prefer to live in gated communities in The Woodlands and in Galleria-area condominiums.

Launching businesses

Rodriguez moved to Katy last summer with plans to spend a year there so his children could learn English and he could launch some businesses in the area. Instead of going home this summer, as he had planned, the family decided to stay in Katy for at least another year in hopes the violence in Monterrey will end.

In Katy, his children can safely ride their bikes to school, he said.

"I live more tranquilly here," said Rodriguez, who is launching Pago Rey, a company that installs machines at which customers can pay their cellular and utility bills and others. He's also building homes and planning to buy shopping centers in the Houston area.